The FDA and CDC just said to stop using certain N95 masks

Jan 23, 2024

NIOSH-Approved N95 Pouch Respirator for sale at Amazon

On Wednesday the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that healthcare workers must stop using N95 respirators manufactured by Shanghai Dasheng Health Products Manufacturing, one of the world's largest manufacturers of N95 masks. The Centers of Disease Control's (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) also revoked all respirator approvals for the company.

According to the FDA announcement, the company was not implementing, maintaining, or controlling a satisfactory quality management system. As a result, any mask authorized by Shanghai Dasheng is no longer authorized for emergency use.

This is less alarming for laypersons than it is for medical professionals. An N95 mask that is not approved by NIOSH is still an effective way to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and there are no additional health concerns associated with Shanghai Dasheng's masks. In other words, its N95s are still better than not wearing a mask, and they won't make you sick on their own.

However, since they're no longer NIOSH approved, that means there are better options for savvy consumers. If you have Shanghai Dasheng masks in your home, you may want to replace them. Unfortunately, this is more complicated than it seems: Since it's such a huge manufacturer, Shanghai Dasheng often sells masks to other companies, and those masks are marketed under different brand names.

The best way to tell if your mask has lost NIOSH approval is to check its approval number, which will start with "TC" and be printed in black ink somewhere on the mask. According to the FDA, the following approval numbers are no longer NIOSH-approved:

You can check your masks against the CDC's NIOSH certified equipment list. Other N95 masks marketed on this page are NIOSH-approved.

Kimberly-Clark Professional N95 Pouch Respirator

According to the CDC, the best way to protect yourself from COVID-19 and prevent further spread and mutation is to get vaccinated as soon as possible.